 Attorney General Racine speaking at the 10th Annual Tenant Town Hall.
Ensuring that District residents have access to safe and affordable
housing is among my top priorities as Attorney General. As an agency committed
to serving as an aggressive public watchdog, our office has expanded legal
efforts to preserve existing affordable housing, deter neglectful landlords
that force their tenants to live in unsafe and unlawful conditions, and crack
down on those that circumvent our rent-control laws.
This week, I announced three major victories for District residents as
a result of lawsuits our office brought:
-
Restitution
for Terrace Manor tenants and continued supervision for repairs: Our office has secured a settlement for $325,000 in restitution and penalties from the owners of Terrace Manor, a building that suffered from missing smoke detectors, rodent infestations, lack of heat and hot water, and other issues. That restitution includes an average of $9,500 in rent repayments for eligible former residents who lived in the complex under those conditions. Additionally, our office secured a commitment from the new owner of the apartment complex to make all necessary repairs. Current tenants will be temporarily relocated to move-in-ready units nearby, where they can remain during the rehabilitation of the property.
-
Congress
Heights to be managed by court-appointed receiver: Our office has obtained
a court order appointing a receiver to manage a Congress Heights apartment
complex that has been plagued by mismanagement, providing relief to tenants who
have lived with unsafe and unsanitary conditions for years. The receivership
order comes after the owners of the property failed to comply with a
court-approved abatement plan to fix multiple housing code violations at the
property. Under the receivership plan, the receiver will conduct an initial
assessment of the property, make emergency repairs, and fix any remaining code
violations or life, health, and safety issues at the property.
-
Operators
of illegal hotel run out of apartment complex to pay restitution and penalties:
Our office has reached a settlement that will return approximately $210,000 to
long-term residents of two rent-controlled apartment buildings where the management
company had allowed a short-term-rental firm to operate apartments like hotel
rooms. By offering the units as short-term rentals to tourists, the defendants
were depleting the city’s inventory of rent-controlled housing.
As part of my commitment to ensuring District residents have access to
quality affordable housing, I will continue to bring actions like the ones
above to ensure safe and habitable housing conditions and to ensure that
consumers get what they pay for with their rent checks. Tenants with
landlord-tenant concerns can contact the Office of the Tenant Advocate at (202)
719-6560; if you believe your issue may be building-wide, please ask them to
share your information with the Office of the Attorney General.
- Attorney General Karl A. Racine
 Attorney General Racine speaking on CNBC about the multistate investigation into Equifax that he is leading.
Companies have a responsibility to protect the personal information of
their consumers. What makes the recent Equifax breach especially outrageous is
that this company is supposed to help you if you are a victim of identity theft.
Now, not only is the personal information of over 143 million Americans compromised
due to neglectful actions by Equifax, but consumers are left having to take
steps to protect themselves from identity theft.
This is why Attorney General Racine is leading a coalition of 34
attorneys general in investigating the breach and Equifax’s response. We are
looking into whether any state consumer protection and personal information
acts were broken and are prepared to bring any action to protect consumers. Our
offices are also working with Equifax to disable its fee-based monitoring
services because the company should not be able to profit off the services
consumers need as a result of its neglect. We want to ensure that redress is
easy, clear, and free.
In the meantime, consumers can take the following steps to protect
their identity:
-
Check to
see if your personal information was compromised by visiting the special
website Equifax has set up to assist consumers
(https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/);
-
Regularly
review your credit reports to check for any suspicious activity;
- If you are a victim of the Equifax data breach,
and you are concerned that your Social Security number may be used to file a
fraudulent federal income tax return in your name, you can go to the IRS’s
website at
https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin
and obtain a six digit PIN to use to authenticate
your tax filings.
As always, you can contact the Office of the Attorney General if you
believe your identity has been stolen or your personal information may have
been exposed by a retailer by calling OAG’s Office of Consumer Protection through
the OAG Consumer Hotline at (202)
442-9828, by sending an e-mail to consumer.protection@dc.gov,
or online using OAG’s Consumer
Complaint Form.
 Staff from OAG's Public Safety Division with members of Howard University's football and cheer teams before the "I Belong Here" kickoff rally.
Our kids have a better shot at a successful future when they are in the classroom learning. This is why Attorney General Racine has launched the “I Belong Here” program in the District of Columbia to reduce truancy and increase student attendance at school. Based on a successful program in Prince George’s County, “I Belong Here” works to encourage student attendance at an early age. The pilot program was launched this week at John Phillip Sousa Middle School where OAG staff will serve as ambassadors for sixth-grade homerooms, leading lesson plans and the year-long attendance competition.
The incentives for this
program are generously provided to the students by our partner, Howard
University. An end of the year celebration and campus tour will take place at Howard
University, exposing the students to a four-year University and encouraging
them to invest in their education. Our hope is this program disrupts the
negative behaviors associated with truancy rates and positively reinforces the
idea that students belong in school.
To follow the program’s
milestones throughout the school year, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
 Opioid overdose deaths are skyrocketing in the District, particularly
in our most vulnerable communities. According
to the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, there were 231 deaths from
opioid overdoses in the District in 2016—an increase over 114 deaths in 2015
and 83 deaths in 2014. To combat this growing crisis, Attorney
General Racine is leading a bipartisan multistate investigation to evaluate
whether manufacturers and distributors engaged in unlawful practices in the
marketing, sale, and distribution of opioids. If companies used unlawful
practices to maximize profits at the expense of public safety, we will hold
them accountable for contributing to this ongoing tragedy.
Relatedly, one of the drivers of the epidemic is unused prescription
drugs that can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. To combat this
problem, CVS Health has announced that the company is expanding
its efforts to fight the opioid epidemic. By the end of the year, CVS will
install three new “drop box” locations for CVS-hosted prescription drug take
back facilities. These kiosks will be located at 24-hour CVS drugstores located
in Ward 7 at 320 40th Street NE, Ward 4 at 6514 Georgia Avenue NW, and Ward 2
at 67 Dupont Circle NW.
 The Office of the Attorney General is one of the nation’s premier
public-interest law firms, and one of the ways to further strengthen our
standing is to continue to recruit top talent. This week, OAG hosted a
successful Recruitment Open House with over 250 interested legal and
administrative professionals! Attendees were able to talk with staff from our
12 divisions to learn more about our work and subscribe for updates regarding
our new job postings. Whether you're an attorney or administrative
professional, there are positions at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG)
for you!
To learn more about how you can join the OAG team, follow us on LinkedIn and
bookmark our Careers Page.
|
